MPs to mark attendance through mobile app in Parliament

Parliamentarians attending the monsoon session of Parliament beginning Monday will have to mark their attendance through a special mobile application developed for the purpose, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said here.

The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha are being convened in separate four-hour shifts so that members can be spread across the chambers of both the Houses to ensure physical distancing required in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Birla said 257 members will be seated in the Lok Sabha hall, 172 in the Lok Sabha gallery, 60 in the Rajya Sabha and 51 in the Rajya Sabha gallery.

He said attempts were being made to minimise the use of paper and MPs will mark their attendance digitally. Screen LEDs will be put up to conduct the proceedings smoothly.

"A mobile attendance application 'Attendance Register' has been developed for marking attendance by members in Parliament House Complex," the Speaker said.

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"Holding the monsoon session was a challenge during the pandemic but we have to fulfill our constitutional responsibilities," Birla said at a press conference.

Chambers will be sanitised during the two-hour break between the two shifts and the MPs will have to undergo an RT-PCR test for Covid-19 before the session begins, the Lok Sabha Speaker said.

"To ensure social distancing, transparent polycarbonate sheets have been placed between the benches," he said.

The Speaker said only members will be allowed access to the Central Hall of Parliament, while the entry of ex-MPs, MLAs, MLCs, personal staff, family members and visitors has been restricted in Parliament House in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.